DeFrancesco states his case for manager’s job

Tony DeFrancesco may not have been the first candidate to interview this week for the Astros’ managerial opening, but he said Friday he thinks home field advantage could sway the search in his favor.

DeFrancesco, who is approaching the end of his first month as the interim replacement for ousted manager Brad Mills, said Friday he spent more than three hours Thursday discussing the job opening with club owner Jim Crane, general manager Jeff Luhnow and president George Postolos.

“For a guy who knows the organization, I think I have a little edge,” he said. “I know the players and the pulse of the team and the future that’s coming.

“One thing I’m relaxed about is my ability to talk to the players and the coaching staff and to delegate. Jeff and Jim, they want a leader, and I’m hoping I can be the guy.”

The Astros have said six to eight candidates for the job will be interviewed by a group that includes Crane, Luhnow, Postolos and former Astros great Craig Biggio. Nationals bench coach Bo Porter interviewed Thursday, and MLB.com reported Friday that Rays bench coach Dave Martinez interviewed for the job this week.

Larry Bowa, the former Phillies and Padres manager who now works as a studio analyst for MLB Network, also was in Houston on Friday, but it was not made clear by the club whether he was consulting with Luhnow on other matters or interviewing for the job.

Luhnow said he would have no comment on the search for a manager, and Bowa did not return a request through MLB Network for comment.

DeFrancesco’s upbeat nature got a boost from the Astros’ 6-4 win Thursday night in which they came back from a four-run deficit against Philadelphia. But in keeping with the up-and-down nature of the Astros’ youthful roster, they gave up four in the first inning to the Phillies on Friday night.

Still, he said he is pleased with improvements on the field and in the clubhouse during his brief tenure after coming in from Oklahoma City, where he was manager of the Astros’ Triple-A farm club.

“I think there’s an upside here,” he said. “I think the attitude has changed in the clubhouse and that the learning curve is going to happen hopefully sooner than later.”

DeFrancesco said he was informed Wednesday night by Luhnow that his interview would be Thursday morning. He said he awoke about 6:30 a.m., wrote some notes on topics he wanted to address, arrived for the meeting at about9:45 a.m. and there was until after 1 p.m.

“I was ready. I was prepared,” he said. “The night before, I was nervous, trying to think about what I was going to say. But when I walked into that room, I talked from heart, and it comes out easy and comes out confident.

“I’m very proud to be an Astro, and I hope the future is here for me. … A young team with a young manager, maybe that’s the ticket to where we’re heading.”

The Astros have said they hope to name a new manager as quickly as possible, but a decision could be delayed if they want to wait for Porter, since the Nationals are likely to make the playoffs, or a candidate from another contending team.

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See the best photos from the Astros’ series opener against the Phillies.